|
Reshaping Illinois Policy
on Disability Issues
Background
Since the mid 1960's, services for children
and adults with developmental disabilities
have evolved in a disjointed fashion.
Illinois' resulting service system can be
characterized as a patchwork of various
pieces which don't interrelate. The absence
of a coordinated system and a comprehensive
plan to guide decision making has widened
the gap between those who have services and
those who do not, with more than 10,000
children and adults with developmental
disabilities remaining on waiting lists
across Illinois. While many states have
recently passed legislation and appropriated
funds to address the waiting list issue,
Illinois has not During the past decade,
Illinois has responded to the increasing
demand from consumers and their families by
triaging only those in eminent crisis.
Clearly, a bold new public policy initiative
is needed to effect systems change.
Illinois' ranking
falls behind other states
An FY '06 analysis of state spending on
services reveals that Illinois continues to
fall behind all other major industrial
states in its effort to expand small home
and community based alternatives for persons
with developmental disabilities.
· Illinois ranks 48th among the 50 states in
the % of total resources spent for
individual and family supports (as compared
to resources spent on congregate care);
· Illinois ranks 43rd among the states in
per capita spending for home and community
based waiver services (down from 31st in
1992)
· Illinois ranks 38th among the states in
supported living and supported employment
spending per capita; in contrast, congregate
care spending nationally declined by 12%
between 1992-96, while Illinois congregate
care spending Increased by 13% (only nine
other states increased such spending:
Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, South
Dakota and Tennessee).
Issues
The various stake holders across Illinois
have polarized on many of the key issues
which must be addressed in order to build
consensus to affect service system change.
These issues include:
· Ensuring personal choice, independence,
and the opportunity to become fully
participating members of their communities
for persons with disabilities.
· Ensuring the safety and health of
individuals with disabilities as they
achieve full participation in integrated
communities. increasing the availability of
Medicaid funds which are the primary
financing for specialized DD services.
Realigning the service system to address the
financial need and responsibility to provide
services to persons with disabilities in a
cost effective community based system which
recognizes the enormity of the 10,000
individuals waiting for services across
Illinois.
Recommendations
The Institute on Public Policy for People
with Disabilities stands ready to work in
partnership with Illinois' elected
leadership and its constituents, to craft
model public policies for all people with
disabilities and their families across
Illinois. Towards this end, we urge adoption
of the following course of action.
· Upon election of the
new Governor, appoint representation of the
Institute to the Governor's "transition
team" to begin implementation of the
following initiatives:
· Create a forum inclusive of
representatives of all stake holders to
build consensus on refocusing Illinois'
service system for people with disabilities.
· Create a viable substructure for
decentralized planning and management of the
community based service system,
· Adopt and implement a multi-year plan for
submission to the Health Care Finance
Administration incorporating all essential
elements of the multi year plan, requesting
a waiver to permit ALL resources financing
services to be treated as a single funding
system", similar to Michigan's Medicaid
waiver plan provisions.
Summary
For over a decade, Illinois public policies
have done little more than address crisis
management of services for people with
disabilities and their families across the
state. A bold, new public policy initiative
is essential, which seeks to reach consensus
on reshaping the service system where all
resources and services can be better managed
and bridge the gap between the haves and the
10,000 people waiting for services. Failure
to recognize and address these fundamental
issues will lead Inevitably to higher costs
for Illinois tax payers and fewer supports
for the nearly 150,000 children and adults
across the state.
In keeping with the
Institute's mission, we pledge our support
to assist in achieving better outcomes for
children and adults with developmental
disabilities and their families throughout
Illinois. We look forward to a collaborative
effort in reshaping Illinois public policy
for people with disabilities.
*Braddock. Hemp. Parish &
Westrich, 2005, The State of the States In
Developmental DisabilIties, 6th Edition,
Washington.' AAMR
|
